(Un)Curtain Office by Dekleva Gregoric Architekti

June 18, 2015

Text Laurence Ouimet-Vives

The office is one large, open space which can be divided into seven diverse working areas by a system of curtains.

LJUBLJANA – The firm dekleva gregoric architects was responsible for refitting a building originally from 1938, situated in the city centre of Ljubljana in Slovenia, into an elegant and dramatic office with a different approach towards workspaces.

The existing building was perfectly suitable for an open-plan workspace, though was long overdue a facelift. The first step of the refurbishment was to reinforce the existing structure and, from there, to incorporate the new interior’s vital characteristic – the curtains. Firstly, the original concrete pillars, laid out horizontally in the middle of the office, were covered with carbon reinforcement, enhancing both the structure and visual identity. Then, a system of curtains was integrated for the users to implement various scenarios for the working environment as required.

The office is one large, open space which can be quickly transformed and divided up into seven diverse working areas. ‘The business community today operates dynamically, impulsively and diversely. Office environments must respond to the constant changes in working groups’ organisations,’ state the architects. This observation was behind the team’s vision of a dynamic work environment which ultimately led to the realisation of the (un)curtain office. Not only does this scheme allow for various spatial arrangements, it also gives a theatrical and sophisticated quality to the design. Shared working areas, arranged on either side of the columns, can convert into semi-isolated, quieter spaces. Alternatively, opening the curtains frees one large space suitable for hosting different types of activities.